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Catspaw (episode)
The Enterprise crew finds witches, black cats, and haunted castles on a distant planet. Summary A landing party of Sulu, Scott and crewman Jackson is overdue for routine check in, when Jackson finally answers the ship's urgent hails. His confusing message: one to beam up. And when Jackson materializes, he immediately falls to the floor, dead. But his dead lips speak; a sonorous voice tells Captain Kirk his ship is cursed; he must leave or all will die. :"Captain’s log, stardate 3018.2. Crewman Jackson is dead... and there are no apparent physical causes. Mr. Scott and Mr. Sulu are still out of touch on the planet below. Leaving Assistant Chief Engineer DeSalle in command of the Enterprise, I'm beaming down to the planet's surface to find my two missing crewmen... and discover what killed Jackson." With two crewmen missing and a mysterious death, Kirk doesn't plan to leave yet. He organizes a second landing party: himself, Spock, and McCoy. They beam to the point from which Jackson was beamed up. There, Kirk intends to discover what happened to his missing men, and what killed Jackson. The planet is fogbound, something extremely unlikely given the environmental conditions. Proceeding towards a reading of nearby lifeforms, the landing party encounters three witches; the spectral hags again warn Kirk to leave. Winds and fog try to thwart the landing party, but they discover a large castle – the source of the life form readings. Entering, the landing party spies a black cat, and follows it through the corridors, until the floor collapses beneath them, plunging them down to a dungeon chamber, and unconsciousness. Awakening, the landing party is chained. Scotty and Sulu appear, and Kirk is first relieved to see his missing men. Then he realizes they're marching to someone else's drum: alive, but unresponsive and no longer allies. The two enthralled men free Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and herd them towards the door at phaser point; a brief scuffle is halted when the all the men are suddenly – elsewhere, in the presence of a strange robed man. This is Korob, decked out in wizard's finery, with robe, wand, and black cat. Spock's comment that mapping expeditions have not discovered life forms on Pyris VII wrings a small truth from Korob – that he is not native to this world. Korob first plies the crew with food and drink, then with fortunes in gemstones. All to get them to leave, without asking more questions. But Kirk tells Korob he could manufacture such stones by the ton on his ship; they're valueless, a fact that conflicts with whatever research Korob has done. Korob then reveals that the events were staged to test the landing party. He has learned they are loyal, brave, and incorruptible. Sylvia enters. She tells Kirk that she can read and control the minds of men. Kirk briefly overpowers Scotty, seizing his weapon, and when he refuses to return it, Sylvia reveals another skill: she can perform sympathetic magic. A small model of the ''Enterprise'', held in the flame of a candle – and the real ship, orbiting above, begins to grow hot. Seizing Sylvia's arm, Kirk removes the model from the flame, and the Enterprise from danger. When he suggests that landing parties will soon appear, Korob seals the model in a block – and above, the ship is suddenly surrounded by a field unlike anything ever encountered, a field that doesn't come from anywhere, but just... is. And, it cannot be analyzed. Kirk and Spock are returned to the dungeon, while McCoy remains with Sylvia, who intends to question him. Kirk and Spock spend some time speculating about Sylvia and Korob, and Kirk decides they must be stopped. Their questions and interest seems to him a little too sinister. Elsewhere, Sylvia and Korob argue; Sylvia likes her new sensations. Wherever these aliens call home, they have nothing like it – and she intends to remain here. Korob reminds her they have a duty to the Old Ones, a fact she considers unimportant in light of her new infatuation. Kirk is returned to Sylvia's presence, where he learns she is infatuated with him, as well. She reveals her plan: to dispose of Korob and join with Kirk. But Kirk is using her, gaining answers through manipulation. Among other things, he learns that the transmuter is the key to her power, a mechanism that facilitates the actualization of thought. But she discovers the deception, and has Kirk hauled back to his cell. Korob finds Kirk and Spock; he reveals he has released the Enterprise, and he releases them. He also reveals that he can no longer control Sylvia or her pawns, and that he considers her dangerously irrational. He is regretful, offering his opinion that their visit could have been a peaceful one. Time presses, and he cannot explain in detail; instead, he urges the men out of their cell, where they again encounter the black cat – now grown to enormous size. The men are forced to retreat back into their cell. The cat forces the door of the cell, crushing Korob and giving Kirk an opportunity to retrieve his wand. Escaping through the ceiling, Kirk and Spock are confronted by their own enthralled crew, and a brief scuffle ends with Sylvia's pawns out of action, and the reappearance of the cat, as well as Sylvia. The wand Kirk has retrieved is the transmuter, and Sylvia wants it very badly. She has a less powerful, simpler mechanism; Korob's wand holds the key. Sylvia is reluctant to simply seize the device from Kirk, despite her contention that he does not know how to use it. Finally, she threatens Kirk with a phaser, demanding the wand. Kirk responds by shattering the wand, and act that undoes everything... almost everything. At the landing party's feet, two small aliens wither and fall. Deprived of their transmuter, Sylvia and Korob have resumed their real forms, and are as Sylvia described them: feathers in the wind. They quickly perish, and both landing parties return to the Enterprise. Memorable Quotes "Recalibrate your sensors, Mr. Chekov. You need help?" "I can do it, sir! I'm not that green." : - DeSalle and Chekov, riding Chekov hard during his first appearance "Captain Kirk... Captain Kirk... Captain Kirk..." "Go back... go back... go back!" "Remember the curse!" "Wind shall rise..." "And fog descend..." "So leave here, all, or meet your end!" : - Three illusory witches, warning away Kirk, Spock and McCoy "Spock. Comment?" "Very bad poetry, Captain." "A more useful comment, Mr. Spock." "What we've just seen is not real." "That's useful." : - Kirk and Spock (see [[Shakespeare and Star Trek|Shakespeare and Star Trek]]) "Jim, could this be some sort of parallel Earth development...?" : - McCoy (see Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development) "Actually, it's a simple matter for us to probe the minds of creatures like yourself... You like to think of yourselves as complex creatures, but you're flawed. One gains admittance to your minds through many levels. You have too many to keep track of yourselves. There are unguarded entrances to any human mind." : - Sylvia, explaining her mind-controlling technique "Jackson. The crew member who returned to the ship. You wondered what killed him? I made an image of him. In the essence of my thoughts, the image was Jackson. And when I killed the image, and knew that it was dead, he died!" : - Sylvia "What about Korob?" "He is a fool. I'll do without him." : - Kirk and Sylvia, as the wedge is driven between Sylvia and Korob "I can squash you! And that would be an interesting sensation, yes." : - Sylvia, asserting her power over Korob "You... are... using me! You hold me in your arms and there is no fire in your mind! You're trying to deceive me! It's here... like words on a page! You are using me!" : - Sylvia, as she becomes aware of Kirk's duplicity "You will be swept away. You... your men... your ship... your ''worlds!" : - '''Sylvia', threatening Kirk * Although not precisely a memorable quote, Kirk calls McCoy "Bones" until he sees the skeleton in the dungeon, whereupon, for the rest of the episode, he calls McCoy "Doc" instead. Background Information * Although this was the first episode of TOS Season 2 in production (filmed in early May 1967), it did not premiere until the week of Halloween, 1967. It was, in fact, written in a Halloween-type theme for just that reason. * Walter Koenig joined the cast as Pavel Andreievich Chekov in this episode. In an apparent discontinuity, Khan Noonien Singh remembered Chekov from the previous season's , but it's not all that unlikely – this episode's stardate (3018) actually precedes the stardate of Khan's TOS Season 1 appearance, meaning this episode could possibly have occurred before "Space Seed." This would be contradicted by DeSalle's change from botanist to assistant chief engineer, however. He had been a botanist in , soon after "Space Seed". * It is also probable that Chekov was already serving on the Enterprise in "Space Seed" but his position was as such that he was not shown on air. Stardates (during the original Star Trek series) are unreliable in determining episode sequence, which Roddenberry himself stated. * This is the first episode to feature DeForest Kelley's name in the opening credits. * From this point on, the episode titles and end credits are in the same font as the main title of the series. * This is the first episode in which a viewer can be seen at the engineering station on the bridge. Also, the science station viewer was slightly altered for this episode – it is of a lighter color than the science viewer used in episodes of the first season and has a circular control added to its left side. The device's second variation, as first seen in this episode, would remain throughout Seasons 2 and 3. * A detailed metal prop miniature of the Enterprise was created for this episode, then encased in Lucite as one of Korob's tricks. The miniature was donated to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by Gene Roddenberry. * Theo Marcuse, a versatile actor who played many villains over the years, died in a car accident one month after this episode aired. * Charlie Washburn, assistant director during the second season, said Antoinette Bower was the most professional actor to appear on the series while he worked on it. * Perhaps to give Bower a more artificially-Human appearance, she wore a wig while playing Sylvia. Bower's real hair can be seen (with extensions) in the first of the exotic women she transforms herself into. * It is possible the cat in this episode is the same animal seen in . * Jimmy Jones is the brother of regular stunt performer Jay Jones. The resemblance is strong, but Jim Jones has a scar by his mouth the "other Jones" does not have. * Scotty's only dialogue in this episode is "Everything's vanished". * Kirk says that the rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds that Korob offers them are worthless: the Enterprise, he argues, could manufacture "a ton" of them. Yet in , he notes that he is surrounded by "a fortune" in diamonds. * The term "catspaw" has a double meaning in this episode. The obvious one is that Sylvia takes on the form of a giant cat; the title refers to her paw. Another meaning is that of a person used by another as a dupe; as McCoy points out, Scott and Sulu are used as catspaws to lure more crewmen down. * The only crew member to die in this episode is Jackson. * In a very brief scene during the red alert we see crewmen in turtleneck uniforms walking on a corridor. It is stock footage from and the last time that these uniforms are worn by Enterprise crewmembers in the original series. * Robert Bloch based this episode very, very loosely on his own short story "Broomstick Ride." * Bloch also wrote In both episodes, the "Old Ones" figure into the guest characters' backstories. * This episode brings to light the fingers James Doohan had lost during World War II, an aspect usually hidden on screen. When he is holding his phaser, only two fingers can be seen on the butt. * Andrea Weaver becomes the women's costumer of the series with this episode. She would remain with the show throughout the remainder of the season and half of TOS Season 3. Remastered Information *"Catspaw" was the eighth episode of the remastered version of The Original Series to air. It premiered in syndication on the weekend of and most notably featured new effects shots of Pyris VII from space, as well as the castle on the surface. The transmuter effect was also touched up and visible wires controlling the small aliens were removed. Image:Pyris VII, Catspaw remastered.jpg|Pyris VII, remastered Image:Castle.jpg|The expanded castle shot :The next remastered episode to air was . Production Timeline * "''Broomstick Ride" is published in Super-Science Fiction: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?62408 * Filming began: Early * Premiere airdate: * 1st rerun: * US LaserDisc: * Japan LaserDisc: * VHS: - ISBN 630021334X * Region 1 DVD 1st release: - * Region 2 DVD 1st release (box set): * Region 1 DVD 2nd release (box set): * Remastered airdate: Links and References Starring * William Shatner as Captain Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy Guest Star * Antoinette Bower as Sylvia Co-Starring * Theo Marcuse as Korob Featuring * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Michael Barrier as DeSalle With * John Winston as Kyle ("Transporter Chief") * Rhodie Cogan as the first witch * Gail Bonney as the second witch * Maryesther Denver as the third witch * Jimmy Jones as Crewman Jackson * Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited) * William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited) * Stunt doubles (all uncredited) ** Jimmy Jones (McCoy) ** Frank da Vinci (Kirk) ** Vic Toyota (Sulu) ** Bob Bass (Scotty) ** Carl Saxe (Korob) References cat; demon; diamond; Earth; Earth parallel development; emerald; ghost; Halloween; heat dissipation unit; iron maiden; ogre; Old Ones; Pyris VII; ruby; saber-toothed tiger; sapphire; Satan; skeleton; telekinesis; transmuter; witch; wizard External Links * * [http://www.fastcopyinc.com/orionpress/articles/broomstick_ride_vs_catspaw.htm Broomstick Ride review] |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} Category:TOS episodes de:Das Spukschloß im Weltall es:Catspaw fr:Catspaw nl:Catspaw